[Packet of Materials from the 1953 Annual Convention of the Teachers State Association of Texas]

Houston, 1953. Very good.. Nine pamphlets, flyers, and assorted ephemera, with original attendee's name tag. Housed in original printed transmittal envelope. Varying levels of wear, with some insect damage to one document and some tearing to the envelope, but mostly well preserved. An informative collection of pamphlets, flyers, and assorted ephemera given out to attendees of the Sixty-ninth Annual Convention of the Teachers State Association of Texas (TSAT), held November 26-28, 1953 at Texas Southern University (TSU) in Houston. A long entry on the TSAT in the Handbook of Texas begins: "The Teachers State Association of Texas, organized to promote quality education for Blacks and good working conditions for Black teachers, was founded in 1884...." The group's original name was the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas, which went on to play a prominent role in representing Black educators in the Lone Star State. The material here was apparently retained by one of the convention attendees, Katie A. Stewart, whose name tage for the event is present here. The packet of information begins with two completely different versions of the convention program -- one a photographically-illustrated pamphlet of forty pages titled the "Official Program" and another, simpler version printed on two folded sheets and attributing the same convention, with the same schedule of events, to the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas. In addition to the convention activities, the "official" version prints numerous advertisements for local businesses in Houston and well wishes from various institutions and organizations.

In addition to the two convention programs, the packet also includes a four-page flyer touting the achievements of Texas Southern President Dr. R. O'Hara Lanier; a special issue of The TSU Clarion, the "Official Publication of Texas Southern University" headlined, "Welcome, Texas State Teachers!;" a legal-sized typed document listing the workshops, conferences, lectures, and institutes for the Summer School session at TSU; a one-page typed document containing information on student residence halls at TSU; and a legal-sized mimeographed document by the principal of Booker T. Washington High School in Houston detailing seven questions and four suggestions as to "Why Teachers Should Vote Against 'The Suggested Amendments and By-Laws of the Colored Teachers Association of Texas.'" In addition to the above publications and documents, the collection includes two smaller cards advertising events during the convention -- one advertising the Thanksgiving Day football game between TSU and Arkansas State A.M. & N. College and an invitation to a dance and games night at Fairchild Gymnasium.

Original educational materials from the segregated system in Texas are exceedingly rare, especially in so dense and varied as the present packet. We could locate no other examples of any of the material in the collection from this particular year, with only a few examples of the organization's annual convention program from other years and just two scattered issues of the TSU Clarion anywhere. (Inventory #: 5512)